Melvin Guillard calls Jamie Varner a coward, has “lost all respect for him”

One of the tilts many fans were looking forward to last night at the Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale was the bout between heavy-handed lightweights Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner. Unfortunately, during the preliminary portion of the broadcast it was revealed the rumble had fallen apart after Varner came down ill backstage.

Though the development was disappointing to most and seemingly unavoidable, an animated Guillard discussed the turn of events in an interview with Fuel TV and made it clear he was angry about the way Varner handled things rather than merely disheartened.

“I think what he did was very cowardly. I saw the look in his eyes at weigh-ins. I could tell he didn’t want to fight me,” said Guillard. “I’ll just leave it at that. I’m not going to sit here and bash the guy. I have a level of respect for him as a person, but as a fighter I lost all respect for him.”

Guillard event went on to say he’d never grant Varner another opportunity to face him, though his tune changed when presented with news that UFC President Dana White had revealed the match-up had been moved to UFC 155.

“They might want to have me some other guys lined up and make weight just in case he backs out again,” joked Guillard at the information.